When you own a business,
protecting your business reputation online can be much more difficult than
protecting your reputation offline. In today's age, often called the Internet
age, a negative comment about your business or a bad review can go viral in a
matter of minutes. Due to the fact that 8 out of 10 consumers will not do
business with a new company that has negative reviews, the real-time nature of
online posts and comments can directly impact your bottom line if you do not
take preventative measures to protect your reputation. Here are 5 ways that you
can manage your online reputation so that you are not losing business because
of poor reviews or negative comments that you do not even know exist.
1. Make Sure You Have a Detailed Plan
You should develop an online reputation management plan and put it down in writing so that everyone is familiar with the steps. A plan of action can help you determine what step you take after you find a negative post or a critical article that the public can easily run across while surfing the web. Your plan should include what you will do, who is responsible for managing your online reputation, and how you will respond to the bad press.
2. Engage Reviewers
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and the Internet has become a powerful place where people share these opinions. When you scour the web with tools to find mentions about your business, make sure that you engage the reviewer when they leave a negative review. You should show everyone who has seen this comment, no matter where the comment was made, that you take accountability and you want to solve problems. Failing to address the comment can damage your reputation.
3. Listen to what is Said Online
You cannot respond to negative comments if you do not know they are on the Internet. Make sure you take time to see what is being said about your company online. You can search for your business name, use monitoring tools, and easily find out what is being said about your brand online. There are even tools, like Google Alerts, that will notify you each time your company is mentioned.
4. Branding Your Content off Page
You should never use generic content in hopes of building your online reputation. When you content is brand specific and search engine optimized, your off page content is a great way to hide negative reviews deep in the search engine results where they cannot easily be found.
5. Building a Good Website
Your website also needs to be optimized so that your site will rank high. This will not only help you with your reputation, it will also help you drive traffic.
Protecting your reputation online is all about being informed. When you know what is being said about you, you respond to comment, and you take time to build brand awareness on the web, you can be sure that bad press does not turn into a nightmare.
This post was written by Aubrey Phelps, a writer for Utah managed services. In her spare time she enjoys training her dog and studying internet marketing.
1. Make Sure You Have a Detailed Plan
You should develop an online reputation management plan and put it down in writing so that everyone is familiar with the steps. A plan of action can help you determine what step you take after you find a negative post or a critical article that the public can easily run across while surfing the web. Your plan should include what you will do, who is responsible for managing your online reputation, and how you will respond to the bad press.
2. Engage Reviewers
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and the Internet has become a powerful place where people share these opinions. When you scour the web with tools to find mentions about your business, make sure that you engage the reviewer when they leave a negative review. You should show everyone who has seen this comment, no matter where the comment was made, that you take accountability and you want to solve problems. Failing to address the comment can damage your reputation.
3. Listen to what is Said Online
You cannot respond to negative comments if you do not know they are on the Internet. Make sure you take time to see what is being said about your company online. You can search for your business name, use monitoring tools, and easily find out what is being said about your brand online. There are even tools, like Google Alerts, that will notify you each time your company is mentioned.
4. Branding Your Content off Page
You should never use generic content in hopes of building your online reputation. When you content is brand specific and search engine optimized, your off page content is a great way to hide negative reviews deep in the search engine results where they cannot easily be found.
5. Building a Good Website
Your website also needs to be optimized so that your site will rank high. This will not only help you with your reputation, it will also help you drive traffic.
Protecting your reputation online is all about being informed. When you know what is being said about you, you respond to comment, and you take time to build brand awareness on the web, you can be sure that bad press does not turn into a nightmare.
This post was written by Aubrey Phelps, a writer for Utah managed services. In her spare time she enjoys training her dog and studying internet marketing.














